freeonthree

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I considered myself an intermediate flyer as soon as I could continually take off, fly, and land without incident. What do you guys think ? In my mind, I will always be an intermediate because I just fly for fun, and could care less about precision. Im more into dependability and lots of stick time.

ecmiller

Precision is what this game is all about, not only for the sake of flying, but for safety as well. That airplane needs to go where you want it to go. Anything less is just punching holes in the sky. Until your comfortable with that...you are a newbie, which incidentally is nothing to be ashamed of.

LANNYBOB

you are a can do type person

freeonthree

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Im not talkin about makin the plane go where ya want, I mean precision in my planes. I have no problem with scotch tape on a wing tip or a patch that doesn't match the paint scheme. OK, so you say, until a person can fly in a safe manor, being in complete control, their a newbie. That sounds ok to me...

firstplaceaviator

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A new user of a technology, usually computers or the Internet, is often referred to as a "newbie." The term originated sometime in the early 1990's and supposedly comes from the English phrase, "new boy," which refers to someone in their first year of public schooling. In online chat rooms, veteran net users like to call anybody who asks an easy question a newbie. If you ever get called a newbie, just shake it off -- everybody has something to learn!

Just because you can fly your plane without crashing, that dos not make you an intermediate pilot. If you have mastered stalls, precision turns, precision approaches and full stall spot landings, then you can call yourself an intermediate pilot. Being a Newbie is not a bad thing. After over 30 years in this hobby, I am about to become a newbie again.
I am finally taking the plunge into turbines. Since I have no experience with model turbines, that makes me a Newbie! That is my final frontier. I have done everthing else in model aviation from free flight to control line combat, carrier and precision stunt all the way through 3D .90 size helicopters, ducted fan jets, scale, giant scale and 3D airplanes. I have loved every moment of it!
Doug

freeonthree

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I guess I am intermediate then, but im not sure what a full stall spot landing is. Doesn't sound like anything my Stearman will do without a considerable amount of wind. Must be what the 3D guys do when they land from a hover on the prop. Am I right ? Nope, can't do that. Back to newbie again. lol

firstplaceaviator

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A full stall landing is when the aircraft stalls just as it is touching down.The spot part of it, is being able to touch down at a pre-determined spot on the runway.
It takes judicial use of throttle and elevator to be able to do it. But, it is very rewarding when you can do it.
Basically, you use your elevator to set the airplane in a nose high decent and use throttle to control sink rate.
You should have full up elevator just as the mains are touching down. With your Stearman, you will land either 3 point or slightly tail wheel first.
Wheel landings are fun too, but are actually more difficult to perform properly!
Doug

freeonthree

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I flare stall all landings. I never fly the plane to the ground, just ain't right...

firstplaceaviator

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Well there ya go! Your an intermediate pilot!
Now go work on some rolling circles and call yourself an advanced pilot!
Doug

MinnFlyer

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Then you are what is known as a "Sport Flier"

I am a Sport Flier too. I used to fly pattern back in my younger days, but it got way too intense for my liking. I tried 3-D, but it's just not what I want to do.

I just want to pull a plane out of the car, get in a few flights, BS with the guys, help out a newbie, etc.

Somewhere along the line, that was catagorized as a Sport Flier, and I'm proud to be one.

freeonthree

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I like the sound of that better. (sport flyer) Im not competive at all... I just like to land over and over and over... Thats what I love ! Guess im a SPORT LANDER. lol

Flak

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DF,
What types of aircraft are you flying?

freeonthree

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I have a Kyosho Nexus 30 nitro helicopter, Kyosho Super Stearman 40 with a Saito 72, Great Planes Cessna 182 Skylane with Saito 56, and a Global Kit J3 Cub with Saito 56.

LuftwaffeOberst

Nice Cub Dennis! I don't know... my Club has me labeled a Intermediate flyer. I've been flying at my Club for two years, one year on my own before that. I have over 200 flights and 4 crashes on my record so far. I'm on my second, third and forth Glow Plane and I still consider myself still a Newbie. I see a lot of people fly a trainer... then they think they're ready for a Warbird. [sm=lol.gif]

I too did that last year, and almost learned the hard way. I got rid of my Warbird and started listening to my friends at my Club. I own a Great Planes Military J-3 Cub and a Hanger 9 Pulse and J-3 Cub. Maybe in a few more years I'll be ready for a Warbird.

Maybe then Hanger 9 will come out with some Axis Planes. [8D] If not, I will be forced to build a full kit.


Peter Dowling aka Luftwaffe Oberst
AMA District II # 865404
Aero Modelers Club
Pulaski, NY

freeonthree

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Whats the big deal about war planes anyway, I have flown Mustangs, Spitfires, and bunch that I can't remember the names of. Mostly all maiden flights for people with newly built planes, or newly bought used planes, but I've flown a bunch of em. I don't like the way they look or fly. I like biplanes myself. I love the way they look, I love the way they fly, I love the shorter wings, and ease of pickin em up like a six pack by the top wing. There by far the easiest plane to carry around, only one hand needed. lol I don't care if it's an Ultimate Biplane, Pitts, or whatever, I just love biplanes. They had 2 versions of the Stearman when I got mine 3 1/2 years ago, but the other version was an Army type PT-17, Yuk ! My big Cub was given to me for putting the Cessna ARF together, then the Cessna was given to me after he crashed it. He also gave me a PT-17 Stearman, and I should have saved it for parts for mine, but I repaired it and then gave away instead. The big Cub is fun to fly occassionally, but it's almost like flying a kite, and the Cessna is great in the wnd, especially on the ground. Gotta love that tricycle landing gear in heavy wind... My next 2 planes will be a Pitts, and then a Tiger Moth. Both of those will get Saito 72's. Someday I hope to put a 4 stroke in my heli too, I hate oil slobbering 2 strokes, and still have the origional glow plugs in my Saito's. I'd love to have a Saito 56 in my helicopter, but the front of the crankshaft is different. Oh well...

firstplaceaviator

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Dennis,
In your initial post, You made it sound like you are a beginner. With the list of planes you have flown, I can't call you a newbie or an intermediate pilot.
You may not care about having perfect airplanes or flying precision maneuvers. But, it sounds like your a pretty good stick!
Otherwise, people wouldn't have you maiden their warbirds.....

I have flown Warbirds of all sizes. Some of them had downright scary slow speed characteristics. That is what the "big deal" is with warbirds.
a long time ago, I bought a Top Flite P-40 that was detailed to the max. It was absolutely gorgeous!
But, it weighed over 12 Lbs. and had an O.S. 61 in it. On a paved runway, it took about 200 Ft. to get off the ground.
Then you had to climb REAL slow to keep from tip stalling. Once at altitude and a decent airspeed, the P-40 flew very well.
Being underpowered and too heavy is a disasterous combination! I landed the plane at over half throttle, wich was just enough to keep the plane in the air.
One day I was set up for landing. During my base to final turn, the engine quite. The plane dropped like a rock.
Trying to make it to the runway, I got too slow and she spun in from 15 Ft. The P-40 was destroyed.

I definitely agree about Bipes! Gotta love em'! Iv'e had 3 Pitts of different sizes, 2 Christen Eagles, a 72" Pica YMF-3, an Ace All Star, a Gee-Bee Dreamer and 2 Ultimates!
Strange, I love bipes...But, I don't have one in the hangar right now. Hmmmmm.... Looks like I need to add another biplane to my fleet!
Doug

freeonthree

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Yeah, biplanes are the best ! I can fly and land anything if it has wings and an engine, and I enjoy doing maiden flights for folks, but I always ask them if their sure everything is tight, because I won't be responsible for it unless I personally check every fastener myself. Even then, I still tug and pull on everything before I take off. The best part about doing that for people is that you get to try out different planes and see what you do and don't like so much. Some of those war planes have to take off and come in pretty hot, but it's all the same to me, I just don't enjoy flying them like I do the bipes. I enjoy taking off, then just puttin around and drinking my coffee and smokin a cig with the left hand. I know, im weird... lol

firstplaceaviator

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Nah, your not weird.....Well, maybe a little!
Most guys get upset when they crash a plane. I used to get upset about it too.
Now, when I wipe out a plane, I just laugh and start thinking about how I will improve the design during the rebuild.
If it is obvious that the plane is totaled, I just start thinking about what to replace it with!
But, after this long in the hobby, I rarely crash. It is usually because I have become complacent with the plane and I'm flying it like I rented it!
I stuffed a Byron Christen Eagle doing an 8 point roll right off the deck. Too bad I gave right rudder, when it should have been left!
It hit so hard that the G-62 was in 3 pieces and the rest of the plane pretty much looked like foam peanuts!
Boy, that was a spectacular crash... Wheres the video camera when you need it!
Doug

freeonthree

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And that is exactly why I have never even bothered to practice inverted flying. I tried it a couple of times, and twice got confused and crashed my planes. After that, I just kept it to rolls and loops, and very few of those. I see people crash all the time, and I don't ever crash, so I think my way works. Im the farthest thing from a show off, and have nothing to prove to me or anyone, and im very content to just make it look like a real plane flyin around up there. Most people get bored just flying after a while, but I could do it all day, every day, and I don't need to do tricks to enjoy the sky. Now that i've been doin it on the sim alot, I will do a few knife edges, and fly inverted a little, but I think it all looks sily, and will probably just revert back to regular ol puttin around. I have never seen any full scale plane take off from our little airport here and do anything fancy like that. I do like to do the occassional snap roll or hammer head, up high, but it's usually just one or 2 of each per day, and the rest is just puttin around and lots of landing. I love landing more than anything, and like to do it over and over again, and could do that all day long. Recently I have found alot of joy in coming in fast, and using the rudder to pitch em sideways to slow em down, and then straighten out at the last second and touching down, thats a real blast ! Maybe I do get a little bored. lol

Mode One

Why do we need names? I wouldn't like being called a newby! It's like being called a "Greenhorn"! Call me a beginner at the things I'm new at. We're all R/Cers, isn't that good enough?

freeonthree

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I guess not... I did a few knife edges tonight with the Super Stearman, flew around a bit, went to land, and hit some debris, and broke my tail wheel wire and messed up the bottom wing, so im back to NEWBIE again. lol Thats ok, i'll be back out there again tomorrow nite to play dodge debris again. That was my first oopsy in about 2 years, and it was definently my turn. The lot we fly off of use to be part of the old mill, and there is still alot of junk out there you have to avoid. It's gettin better all the time as we clean it up though. The college is going to be building there soon, so were not gettin too carried away with the janitorial services. lol